GFCI Outlet Questions

I'm remodeling a Mobile Home (MH) and have a couple of GFCI outlet questions.

Q1: After locating the outlet at the BEGINNING of outlets wired in series, and finding the LINE for the beginning outlet coming from the circuit panel, if the breaker feeding the LINE is a 15A breaker, that means each plug in the series should be a 15A outlet, correct?

Q2: When installing new outlets, would it be harmful to install 20A outlets, leaving the 15A breaker in the circuit panel, or should I also put in a 20A breaker in the circuit panel to feed the circuit, or should I just install 15A outlets to match the 15A breaker in the circuit panel (assuming 15A would adequately service the kitchen/bathroom plugs)?

Q3: Which brand name of GFCI receptacles is the safest and best to get from a big box store?

While you can have 15A receptacles on a 20A circuit, you CANNOT put a 20A receptacle on a 15A circuit. Whether you can swap the circuit breaker to 20A would be determined by the wire gauge size. It must be at least 12g wire to swap it to a 20A CB. It's probably 14g. Can't help you with brands. Not all GFCI have a load output, so some cannot be used to protect those downstream.

Most GFI you will find readily are labeled 15 amp, ( 20 amp feedthrough). This is OK to be on a 15 amp breaker, as the only load which can be plugged in to any of them is a 15 amp load. But don't put in a 20 amp GFI ( it will have one blade vertical, and the other blade T-shaped.)

Q1: After locating the outlet at the BEGINNING of outlets wired in series, and finding the LINE for the beginning outlet coming from the circuit panel, if the breaker feeding the LINE is a 15A breaker, that means each plug in the series should be a 15A outlet, correct?

Q2: When installing new outlets, would it be harmful to install 20A outlets, leaving the 15A breaker in the circuit panel, or should I also put in a 20A breaker in the circuit panel to feed the circuit, or should I just install 15A outlets to match the 15A breaker in the circuit panel (assuming 15A would adequately service the kitchen/bathroom plugs)?

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You cannot change out the breaker. The breaker protects the wiring and is sized for the wiring in your home. 15A GFCIs are what is commonly installed in residential construction even if the breaker is rated 20A. If you install 20A GFCIs you won't hurt anything, but you will be throwing away your money as they are more expensive.

Q3: Which brand name of GFCI receptacles is the safest and best to get from a big box store?

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Sorry, can't help here. I only shop those stores if I am desperate and I remembered to bring a paper bag to wear over my head That said I don't know of a brand that has a bad rep for GFCIs at the moment.

The aggragate (sum) of the load could be 20A if the wiring supported it, but no individual load could exceed 15A if you restrict the use of receptacles to 15A (20A feed-through) on a 20A circuit. But, one 20A load would exceed the capacity of a 15A branch circuit, so why would you allow one to be plugged in by using a 20A receptacle? A device rated to exceed 15A requires a special plug, and preventing that from happening, is the reason. You could have numerous lower wattage devices plugged into one circuit, and thus desire a 20A branch, but not want any one device to hog all the power. Typically, a heavy user warrants a dedicated circuit.

Another good reason is that there is nothing in the average residence that uses a 20 amp plug and thus would require a 20 amp receptacle. The one exception I can think are a few of the bigger window or through-wall mounted air conditioners, but even most of them are 220V.

Another good reason is that there is nothing in the average residence that uses a 20 amp plug and thus would require a 20 amp receptacle. The one exception I can think are a few of the bigger window or through-wall mounted air conditioners, but even most of them are 220V.

Also, note that the receptacle must be rated to pass 20A on the terminals if used for feed-through. It would seem Canada's code is a lot more strict in this sense, maybe expecting lots of loads simulaneously. While not a bad thing, maybe a bit overly conservative...it certainly would prevent some issues, but at a cost most people won't need. Most appliance manufacturers recommend that you run a dedicated circuit for their high-current devices, and if you do this, you'd normally not have a problem.